Federal judge delays decision on Oklahoma's Sharia ban

The Oklahoman reports that on Monday U.S. District Judge Vicki Miles-LaGrange (a Clinton appointee) extended the temporary restraining order she issued two weeks ago which prevented the board of elections from certifying the passage of an amendment to the state constitution which would bar the use of Sharia or international law to decide cases in Oklahoma state courts. Miles-LaGrange said that she will make her ruling on the case next Monday after considering the issues. The citizens of Oklahoma passed the amendment (State Question 755) on November 2 with over 70% of the vote. The suit was brought before Miles-LaGrange by Muneer Awad the executive director of the Oklahoma chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations who initially chose to represent himself. According to the Tulsa World, Awad has since retained Michael Salem as his attorney. Salem has disparaged the authors of the amendment as “xenophobic merchants of fear and hate.” ...(Read Full Post)